[DanaC]

He is insured = but there is a life time limit per condition and the first 15 months after he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia I had to claim about a third of that limit.

So,anything to do with his hips I dont claim for in order to keep the remainder of that per condition cover available for if his hip fully fails and he has to have an op.

So that just then leaves the non-hip related stuff to claim for -which is a much smaller cost across the year. With the excess (£90) and the age related copay (I think 20 per cent but it might be up to 30 now he is 8) it basically means it is not worth claiming for anything under £300 - £400

If he had needed an xray and sedation after eating the hearing aid, I'd have claimed and got some of it covered but would have been out of pocket by about £180-£200

And if this was the start of something that required ongoing treatment over several weeks I would possibly claim if costs looked like they would go above £300 across the year for that particular injury or condition (the policy year that is,which runs march to march), but I'd still have to cover a significant chunk out of pocket.

I daren't end the policy - because then he would have no cover for anything to do with his hips. The premiums are quite high because of the early treatment and physio he had when he was young - so,I pay his insurance premiums each month and also pay his regular pain meds, blood tests and hip checks to avoid whittling down the rest of the cover for that stuff, and all the other stuff that occasionally affects dogs and leads them to the vets tends to stay just below a claimable cost in any one insurance year.

Basically, the insurance (£55 per month) is there in case he gets hit by a car, requires surgery or has to go through several xrays or tests to diagnose something major